Creating Intimacy

Will you commit to joining me to boldly walk through these open doors together? There are some here and on the sound of my voice who remember a day when a person's name was far more important and valuable than money and prestige.

Now, for those of you who have not seen those days, have not experienced those days, let me tell you, there was a day.

when a person's name was of more value than all the gold and the silver in the world.

There was a day when a person's name meant everything to them.

Like many of you, I grew up thinking that way.

Growing up in a Christian home in a sea of a non-Christian world, our name and our family name meant everything because it literally represented Christ himself.

But even today, there are certain names, as soon as they're mentioned, you automatically, it communicates integrity or dishonesty.

When you hear a name of a person to this day, you still either communicating honor or dishonor.

When a name is mentioned, you immediately, it communicates the character of that person.

Why is that? Why is that? Because often a person's name becomes who that person is and become known as who he is.

The question are often asked by many people, what is in a name? No, the truth is everything is in a name.

I read a story about a young couple who are expecting their first child, their first child.

And, you know, those of you young moms and dad know what I'm talking about.

We've seen it with our kids.

And they're struggling what to call the first child, what they're going to call him.

And finally, mama said, we'll call him Timothy.

And dad said, over my dead body.

Well, she couldn't understand the vehemence by which he's resisting that name.

The bottom line was that when he was a boy in school, there was a bully in the playground.

His name was Timmy.

And he could not even imagine, he could not think of his precious little boy is going to be referred to as Timmy.

But why? Why? Because the name represents the worst of memories, growing up as a young boy.

In biblical times, they named children for what they want them or hope that they'll grow up to be.

That's always, you see that in the Scripture.

Well, he named him this because of that, and he named him this and so forth.